Health advises the elderly to continue getting vaccinated against Covid

The over 70 years oldhealth personnel and people who care for or live with vulnerable people are some of the groups that should continue to be vaccinated against the virus. Covid-19 during the 2025-2026 campaign, according to a report published by the Ministry of Health, which analyzes the scientific evidence of immunization, recently marking five years since the administration of the first vaccine in the pandemic.

The Government’s health portfolio advises, after a report carried out by the scientific advisors of the Minister’s Cabinet, that the people with serious chronic illnesses or with him weakened immune system and those who live in residences or other closed institutions.

The recommendation is a seasonal dose, even if they have already received others before or have had the disease. It is necessary that at least three months since last dose or infection –six in the case of certain specific vaccines – continued Health, which added that this compound can be administered at the same time as the flu vaccine, which facilitates its inclusion in seasonal campaigns.

As a summary of these first five years since the first vaccine against Covid-19, which occurred on December 27, 2020, the Administration highlights, through a scientific evidence note, that vaccination has become one of the most effective tools to save lives and reduce the impact of the pandemic.

Avoided mortality data

In figures, and at a global level, it has been highlighted that immunization prevented about 20 million deaths only in the first year of the campaign. Meanwhile, in Europe, 1.6 million lives saved and, in Spain, nearly 127,000 people over 25 years of age could have died if mass vaccination had not begun.

For its part, as an example, in children between five and 11 years old, This note of scientific evidence provides the estimate, published in the ‘Spanish Journal of Public Health’, that vaccination “appreciably reduced infections (2-4% in a circulation scenario similar to that of January 2022), with more modest reductions in hospitalizations and deaths (6% in a wave scenario).”

In addition, Health highlights that protection against mild infections may decrease over time and with the appearance of new variants, such as Omicron. However, he highlighted that studies confirm that protection against hospitalizations, serious illness and death remains high, especially in people who have received booster doses.

Regarding the group of elderly people and residents in long-stay centers, different data have been highlighted, such as that In Spanish residences alone, it is estimated that at least 3,500 deaths and more than 17,000 infections were avoided in the first months of the campaign.

Everything means, according to Health, significant health savings, since vaccination translated into a decrease in hospitalizations and admissions to Intensive Care Units (ICU). As an example, he highlighted the case of the Basque Country, a region in which it is estimated that, during 2021, immunization prevented between 15,000 and 24,000 deaths, and between 46,000 and 75,000 hospitalizations, which led to a net saving of more than 26 million euros for the health system.